Ségolène Royal, the Socialist challenger for the French presidency, will hold a televised debate with François Bayrou on Saturday in a desperate attempt to win over the supporters of the centrist UDF leader, who came third in last Sundays first round poll.

BFM TV, an independent media group, promised to broadcast the meeting live this morning after Canal+ pulled out of the debate amid accusations that the television station had been lent on by supporters of Nicolas Sarkozy, the frontrunner from the centre-right UMP party.

Ms Royal denounced the media-financial system behind Mr Sarkozy that she claimed had tried to suppress the debate.

The French people do not want power to be confiscated from them by some media groups tied to financial powers and linked to a candidate, she said. This is not acceptable in a democracy and I believe that we must implement necessary reforms to put an end to this concentration [of power].

Mr Bayrou had earlier accused Mr Sarkozys supporters of leaning on Canal+, owned by the Vivendi group. I do not have any proof but I am certain of it, he said.

Furiously denying the charge, Mr Sarkozys ­supporters accused their opponents of lies and Stalinist tactics. Canal+ said that broadcasting the debate would have fallen foul of strict rules giving Mr Sarkozy and Ms Royal equal media time.

Mr Sarkozy, who has a clear lead in the polls, ridiculed his rivals decision to debate with Mr Bayrou, who has been eliminated from next Sundays run-off.

However, Ms Royal must win over most of Mr Bayrous voters if she is to have any chance of victory.

On paper, the electoral arithmetic is heavily against her. The total left vote last Sunday came to 13.2m, well short of the 16m recorded by the right. Mr Bayrous 6.8m swing voters in the middle are therefore crucial to the outcome.

Jérôme Sainte-Marie, a director of the BVA polling organisation, said the political dance between Ms Royal and Mr Bayrou this week had resembled a Marivaux comedy that might have amused people but was unlikely to have changed the dynamics of the race.

He warned that Ms Royals attempts to win over centrist voters might only drive away potential supporters on the extreme left.

Some Socialist party members have already cautioned Ms Royal against hazardous gymnastics in moving her party towards the centre.

Moreover, objectively, Mr Bayrou would appear to have little interest in helping Ms Royal win the presidency because he might then be marginalised by a resurgent Socialist party.

The UDF leader, who is creating a new party to fight the parliamentary elections in June, would benefit most from a fractured Socialist party  in the wake of a Sarkozy victory  enabling him to emerge as the leader of a social democratic opposition.

Jean-Louis Bourlanges, a UDF politician, said Mr Bayrou was intent on shattering the false union in the Socialist party between Marxist palaeo­socialists and social democrats.

Bayrou is out to fracture the Socialist Party. He can then form his "centrist" Social Democrat Partyt from the ashes, leaving the traditional Socialists and their commie, Trotskyist, Green, and other far left kooks in his wake.

New polls out today will show no change with Sarko beating Royal 53-47>

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